Adjustable overflow device for lamps



0. J. HEYNE. ADJUSTABLE OVERFLOW DEVICE FOR LAMPS.

(No Model.)

No. 359,567. Patented Mar. 15, 1887.

UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE OTTO "I. HEYNE, OF SPRINGFIELD,MASSACHUSETTS.

ADJUSTABLE OVERFLOW DEVlCE FOR LAMPS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 359,567, dated March15, 1887.

Application filed December 20, 1886. Serial No. 222,031. (No model.)

To aZZ whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that l, OTTO J. HEYNE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State ofMassachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in AdjustableOverflow-Gates, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to lamps having an upper and a loweroilreservoir, sometimes called pump-lamps, which contain means forlifting oil from the lower to the upper reservoir, and adjustableoverflow devices to cause the oil which is deliveredinto the upperreservoir to be partially drawn back into the lower reservoir to agreater or less degree, as may be desirable,whereby the nu mber of hoursthat the lamp will burn, drawing its supply from the upper reservoir, isdetermined, the object of this invention being to provide improvedoverflow devices forlam ps of this class, said devices being alsoapplicable to any vessel containing fluid, for the purpose of drawingthe contents of the vessel off down to a certain level.

In the drawings forming part ofthis specification, Figure 1 is a sideelevation of a lamp having an upper and a lower oil reservoir and a pumpfor transferring oil from the latter to the former reservoir, providedwith adjustable overflow devices constructed according to my invention,said figure showing portions of the side of the lamp broken away and thepump and a portion of the overflow devices in section, the top of thechimney of thelamp being shown broken off. Fig. 2 is a side elevation ofthe overflow devices separate from the lamp, in which the flange whichsecures the rotating plug in its case is shown in section. Fig. 3 is aplan view of the top of the overflow devices and a portion of the top ofthe lamp.

In the drawings, 0 indicates 'the lower portion or main reservoir of.the lamp B, which is ordinarily supplied with a considerably largerquantity of oil than is required to fill the upper oil-reservoir, (Z,from which the supply for the burner e is directly drawn in the ordinaryway, the said lower reservoir being filled with oil through a commontube covered by a screwcap, a.

A pump, 3, fixed in the interior of the lamp, as shown, is employed topump the oil from the lower into the upper reservoir, (1.

' Lamps of this class are used principally for street-lamps, and the usethereof forthis purpose demands that they shall be provided with meanswhich are simple and easily adjustable, whereby, after the reservoir dhas been filled, or nearly so, with oil from the lower reservoir, suchpart of said oil as may be in excess of the quantity required to supplythe burner of the lamp for a certain number of hours shall be drawn offinto t-helower reservoir, so that there shall be no waste of oilfand itis also required in lamps of this class that said overflow devices shallbe adjustable, to the end that sufficient oil for a greateror lesssupply of oil to the burner may be left in the upper reservoir toprovide for the varying hours of burning the lamp. 7

My improved adjustable overflow devices I) consist of a metallic plug,7, having a longitudinal slot, 8, in one side thereof, whichcommunicates with a central longitudinal chamher in said plug, whichchamber is open at as at the lower end of the plug, and of a metallicplug-case, 5, in which the plug 7 is fitted to turn closely and preventleakage between the two, said plug having through its side a spiralgroove, 6, which makes a complete turn in the case, or nearly so, asshown in Fig. 2. The upper end of the case 5 is provided withalaterally-projecting flange,1'l, and a flange, 9, is placed looselyover the head of the plug 7, against its upper end, and is securedthereon by screws passing through it into the said flange on the case,whereby means are provided for holding the plug to its bearing in thecase, which can be reached for adjusting purposes when the overflowdevices occupy their operative positions in the lamp, as shown in Fig.1.

An index-wheel, 12, is secured on the head of the plug 7, which servesas a hand-wheel for turning said plug, and the graduation-marks,indicated by numerals on said wheel, together with a fixed finger, 13,which is secured on the lamp and extends over the face of the wheel,provide means for turning the plug 7 to certain known positions, for thepurpose below described, said numerals and graduation-marks on the wheelindicating the number of hours and parts of hours that the oil which theoverflow devices cause to be left in the upper reservoir will supply theburner e.

The overflow devices I) are secured in the lamp in the positionindicated in Fig. 1-that is to say, with the under side of the flange 14of the case 5 resting against the upper side of the reservoir (1 andextending through the latter vertically, the lower small end, 2, of thecase passing through the bottom of the upper reservoir, so that the saidlongitudinal chamber in the plug 7 communicates with the lowerreservoir, 0.

The operation of my improved overflow devices is as follows: lVhen theplug 7 occupies the position shown in Fig. 2 relative to the spiral slot6 in the ease, the index-wheel 12 stands with the zero-mark at thefinger, as shown in Fig. 3that is to say, the position of theindex-wheel indicates that the plug 7 occupies such a position in theease5 as permits no oil to be retained in the upper reservoir, whichposition is one that brings the lower end of the slot 8 in the plug incoincidence Willi the lower end of the spiral slot 6 in the case 5,whereby oil is permitted to flow through the lower end of the slot 6into the lower end of the slot 8 of the plug, and escaping from thelatter, through its lower end at 00, into the lower reservoir, therebydrawing all of the oil from the upper reservoir down to the level of thelower end of the spiral slot in the case 5, and consequently leaving nooil in the upper reservoir. \Vhen the index-wheel 12 and the plug towhich it is attached are rotated in the direction indicated by the arrowon said wheel in Fig. 3, to bring the figure 1 opposite the end offinger 13, the plug is sufficiently rotated to bring that portion of itsslot 8 which is exposed by the opening through said spiral slot stillfarther above the lower end of the case and above the bottom of thereservoir (Z, and hence oil which said exposed portion of the plug,leaving suffieient in the upper reservoir to supply the lamp for onehour, and in the same manner the position of the slot in the plugrelative to the spiral slot in the case is adjusted to bring the exposedportion of said slot 8 to such a distance above the bottom of the upperreservoir as will leave sufficient oil in the latter for the requirednumber of hours that the lamp should burn.

The said adjustable overflow devices may be applied advantageously intanks and tubs in breweries and similar establishments where it becomesdesirable that the contents of a tank be drawn down to a certain level,thereby leaving a known quantity of liquid in the tank.

\Vhat I claim as my invention is 1. Adjustable overflow devices forfluid-reservoirs, consisting of a hollow case having a spiral slotthrough its side nearly from end to end, and a plug having alongitudinal slot, 8, therein, communicating with an internal chamberextending through the lower end of the plug, the latter being fitted tobe rotated within said case to expose portions of said slot 8 throughthe spiral slot of the case at different distances from the lower end ofthe last-named slot, substantially as set forth.

2. Adjustable overflow devices for fluidtanks, consisting of a case, 5,having a spiral slot, 6, through its side, a plug. 7, fitted to retatein said ease, having a slot, 8, communicating with an internal chambertherein, having an outlet through the lower end of the plug, anindex-wheel attached to said plug, and a finger located near said wheelto indicate marks thereon, substantially as set forth.

OTTO J. HEYNE.

\Vitnesses:

H. A. CHAPIN, G. M. CHAMBERLAIN.

